Markets trade near neutral lines with positive bias in late afternoon session

Erasing all their losses, Indian equity markets traded near neutral lines with positive bias in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded in green. Traders took some support as Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed confidence that India will continue to demonstrate a 6-8 per cent consistent growth rate over the next 10 years as he invited global players to the country to tap domestic and global markets. Meanwhile, the economic growth in India continued to strengthen in February, with further accelerations evident in both the manufacturing and service sectors. According to the HSBC Flash India PMI survey report, growth improved in both the manufacturing (five-month high) and services (seven-month high) economies, on the back of buoyant demand conditions, investment in technology, efficiency gains, expanded clientele and favorable sales developments.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors cheered Nvidia's strong Q4 earnings results, driven by demand for its chips to power artificial intelligence. European markets were trading higher boosted by a rally in global stocks that also saw Japan's blue-chip Nikkei index hit an all-time high.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72662.98, up by 39.89 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 72081.36 and 72810.94. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index. 

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.30%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.06%, IT up by 1.03%, Industrials up by 0.88%, Metal up by 0.87% and Auto was up by 0.79%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.56%, Oil & Gas down by 0.54%, Bankex down by 0.42%, PSU down by 0.12% and Healthcare was down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 2.29%, ITC up by 1.49%, TCS up by 1.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.27% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.48%, Titan Company down by 1.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.47%, HDFC Bank down by 1.39% and SBI down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the economic growth in India continued to strengthen in February, with further accelerations evident in both the manufacturing and service sectors. According to the HSBC Flash India PMI survey report, growth improved in both the manufacturing (five-month high) and services (seven-month high) economies, on the back of buoyant demand conditions, investment in technology, efficiency gains, expanded clientele and favorable sales developments. The headline HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index - a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors - rose from a final reading of 61.2 in January to 61.5 in February. The latest figure was consistent with a sharp rate of expansion that was the strongest since mid-2023.

The report further said that new orders across India's private sector rose for the thirty-first successive month halfway through the final fiscal quarter. Equal to January, the rate of expansion was sharp and the joint-best in seven months. As was the case for output, services firms noted a stronger increase in sales than their manufacturing counterparts. International markets again made a positive contribution to companies' order books, as seen by the fastest expansion in new export work since last September. The upturn was led by goods producers. External sales were reportedly fuelled by stronger demand from clients based in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.

On the price front, the rate of charge inflation for Indian goods and services receded to the weakest in a year as companies generally observed a lack of cost pressures. Input prices increased at the slowest pace in three-and-a-half years. Although outstanding business volumes continued to increase halfway through the final fiscal quarter, the pace of accumulation was slight and softer than in January. Rates of expansion were equal at goods producers and service providers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22060.20, up by 5.15 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 21875.25 and 22110.25. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech up by 2.13%, Eicher Motors up by 2.03%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.66%, ITC up by 1.54% and Coal India up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.49%, BPCL down by 2.38%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.74%, Titan Company down by 1.57% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 836.52 points or 2.14% to 39,098.68, Hang Seng advanced 239.85 points or 1.43% to 16,742.95, Taiwan Weighted added 176.47 points or 0.94% to 18,852.78, Shanghai Composite strengthened 37.4 points or 1.25% to 2,988.36, KOSPI increased 10.96 points or 0.41% to 2,664.27 and Straits Times was up by 4.75 points or 0.15% to 3,221.86. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 16.86 points or 0.23% to 7,332.16.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.78 points or 0.15% to 7,674.29, France’s CAC rose 72.38 points or 0.93% to 7,884.47 and Germany’s DAX was up by 233.41 points or 1.36% to 17,351.53.